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Legal Requirements

The following is a list of all the documentation required by Dominican law in order to get legally married in the Dominican Republic.

  • Birth certificate of couple or certified copy of birth certificate. If parents’ names are not shown on the certificates, please indicate them separately.
  • Notarized declaration of single status for the couple. If previously married, submit two copies of the divorce decree or death certificate. There is a mandatory waiting period for women (ten months before they are legally allowed to remarry).
  • A photocopy of couple’s passport.
  • Photocopies of all witnesses’ passports. They cannot be family members. If necessary, resort will provide witnesses.
  • The couple must be in the country three business days prior to the wedding.

Symbolic and non-legal ceremonies allow flexibility for arrival date. Please speak with the wedding coordinator to discuss requirements.

Please note: The Dominican Republic is now a member of the La Hague Convention. Please have your official documents apostilled by your Secretary of State office. You can also contact vitalcheck.com to request apostilled documents.

All documents must be translated and legalized by the Dominican consulate prior to arriving in the Dominican Republic, except for the passports. The documents should be legalized by the Dominican consulate no more than three months prior to the wedding date. It is the couple’s responsibility to have all the documentation ready prior to the wedding.

For a quick and reliable translation and legalization service of your paperwork, please contact Mrs. Isabel Gonzalez at WE DO:

1619 Cottage Landing Ln.

Houston, Texas 77077

Email: isagon@wedo.com.do

Web: http://wedo.com.do/

Phone: 1-800-686-WEDO

Fax: 281-741-2623

Please note: When sending your documents to WE DO, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope to mail your documents back. The judge is an outside service provided by the Dominican government. We cannot be held responsible for any delay or alteration. The judge will duly register your wedding certificate at the Central Civil Board and legalize it with the Foreign Affairs Department of the Dominican Republic. We will then send the wedding certificate to the couple via mail which may take up to 15 weeks.

The civil wedding is celebrated in Spanish. Your marriage certificate will be sent to you in Spanish, you will then need to have it translated and legalized into

English.

SYMBOLIC WEDDINGS

No paperwork is required for a symbolic wedding. Normally the wedding planner will officiate. However, you can bring your own minister or pay for a local service. The resort requires you to be at the resort three days prior to the wedding to go over all wedding details.